A Creative Rendezvous, Part 2 CCRT

 I love going on trips, but it always takes a bit of time for me to get back into the routine of daily life when I return. This explains why I am slow at posting Part 2 of our Creative Rendezvous. 

Crafts was a big part of our time spent in Missoula, but we also enjoyed trying the food of Missoula while on our creative rendezvous. There were many amazing spots to try. The Catalyst came highly recommended and it did not disappoint. I had breakfast for lunch and loved the cup of hash brown casserole that came as a side

They had lots of coffee drink selections also.

Another place we tried for dinner was the Tamarack Brewing Company. We loved this place also. Fun drinks, delicious food, and we had a great waitress. 

My brother had told me about a vegan doughnut place he had visited while in Missoula. He raved about how delicious the doughnuts were. We stopped on our way out of town at Veera Donuts. He was so right. The cases of doughnuts looked like an art gallery of deliciousness. We brought him home a couple to enjoy also. 

Of course, a trip out of town is not complete without visiting a bookstore. Fact and Fiction had a wide selection of books, with a focus on books about Montana. The shop also featured Montana authors. 

A usual stop while in Montana is the Travel Center in St. Regis. We didn't need food then, but we enjoyed the gift shop. 

There is nothing like getting away to rest, relax, be creative, shop,laugh, eat, get lost, and enjoy the companionship of a friend, a sister, and Riley. I think CCRT needs to be a tradition now!

A Creative Rendezvous, Part 1 CCRT

My sister Carol and her husband Paul have created an online business called Grow Me a Story. Their mission is  "to create a virtual community for those seeking to deepen the joy and meaning that come from practicing the art of creative living." I have participated in this community by doing a book study of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron via Zoom they led,  by contributing to the online Sacred Community Garden, reading their blog and listening to their podcast that includes interviews with people leading a creative life. You can find their website here: https://www.growmeastory.com

One suggestion for fitting creativity in your life is to do a Creative Rendezvous. They suggest you take yourself on a fun and playful outing each week. This is to provide inspiration. The main goal is to have fun.  

This last week I planned a Creative Rendezvous for more that a few hours. I planned a four day stay at a vacation home in Missoula, MT. My friend Tracy, another member of the Sacred Community Garden joined me, We also brought my dog Riley on the road trip.  We were so excited my sister Carol could join us for a couple of  days.

Carol created flowers on a floral scrapbook sheet.

I created a collage celebrating our family dinners,

It was an amazing Creative Rendezvous. We planned many parts ahead in case we needed supplies. We did some fun crafts using paints, photos, lettering, and other mediums. Tracy surprised us with sheets of photos she found on our Facebook pages and had printed. The little pictures were perfect for many of our craft projects. Carol created the row of flower paintings at the top of the page.

Fiesta Ware at The Import Market

We wanted to visit places that would inspire us. The Import Market was one. We all had memories of shopping at the Import Market in Spokane. Walking in the store was like walking back in time with the baskets, incense, candles, bright lanterns, posters, and now Fiesta Ware. Just all the bright colors were an inspiration. 

Tracy created a special collage of Riley photos for me.

She also created the front door of my house with photos and flowers. I just love it.

We engaged in creative chats, we read, we wrote, and we created. I think we met the goal of the rendezvous.  We were inspired and we had fun. Riley always wanted to be near, but couldn't do the crafts. Poor Riley. Stay tuned for more of our creative adventures in Part 2.

“Wherever you are is always the right place. There is never a need to fix anything, to hitch up the bootstraps of the soul and start at some higher place. Start right where you are. "

― Julia Cameron

The Import Market

It was a cozy and comfortable vacation rental.

The Rivers of My Life

The North Fork of the Coeur d' Alene River

Once again National Poetry Month has come to an end. I enjoy and celebrate poetry all year long, but I always focus more on my favorites in April. The last poem I chose is by poet and author William Stafford. I have stood by many rivers during my lifetime.  A river is a good place to pause and reflect on the passage of time as the still beauty of the current passes over the rocks. What I have I done with this life?  I have tried to live it the best I can.

Spokane River

South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River in Kellogg

Ask Me

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.

William Stafford

Clark Fork River

Kettle River

Chewack River in Winthrop, WA where Everett spent many hours during his childhood.

The Clearwater River

Pleasures of Ordinary Life

 

I am so thankful that years ago, especially when digital cameras came out, that I took time to capture photo images of my ordinary life. When you hear the words ordinary life you might think it describes a ho hum, boring existence. 

This poem helped me realize there are many pleasures in living an ordinary life. I didn't get that PhD I dreamed of, I never purchased a fancy car, I have never traveled abroad, I don't own expensive jewelry.

I haven't published my writing, learned a foreign language, or filled a closet with a hundred pair of shoes, but guess what? I have lived a sweet, sweet ordinary life.

The Pleasures of Ordinary Life

I've had my share of necessary losses, Of dreams I know no longer can come true. I'm done now with the whys and the becauses. It's time to make things good, not just make do. It's time to stop complaining and pursue The pleasures of an ordinary life. I used to rail against my compromises. I yearned for the wild music, the swift race. But happiness arrived in new disguises: Sun lighting a child's hair. A friend's embrace. Slow dancing in a safe and quiet place. The pleasures of an ordinary life. I'll have no trumpets, triumphs, trails of glory. It seems the woman I've turned out to be Is not the heroine of some grand story. But I have learned to find the poetry In what my hands can touch, my eyes can see. The pleasures of an ordinary life. Young fantasies of magic and of mystery Are over. But they really can't compete With all we've built together: A long history. Connections that help render us complete. Ties that hold and heal us. And the sweet, Sweet pleasures of an ordinary life. Judith Viorst

Woman Who Loves Gardening

 

I wrote this poem in June of 2007. Reading it again today brought back memories of gardening with Everett at Martin Creek. Enjoy!

Woman Who Loves Gardening

I have dirty nails

and rarely paint them, living out

my long growing season in the flower garden, trellises

giving view to clematis, climbing Peace

where aromatic flowers

grow in profusion.

I pull the weeds

in the early morning

gritting my teeth

wiping sweat from my brow

and listening

to footsteps of my husband

coming in range to help.

Sun makes my face red;

each sniff with my nose

leaves lily pollen behind.

When I rest it’s the beauty

that causes anxiety to shake loose

from a woman in need

of a quiet place to retreat.

Christy Woolum

June 20,2007

Sunshine Mine Disaster: May 2, 1972, a post from the archives

As we near the 50th anniversary of this terrible tragedy, I revisited a post I wrote a while back.

May 2nd, 1972.
There are dates in our lives we never forget. For those of us that grew up in the Silver Valley of northern Idaho none of us will forget May 2nd, 1972. That day a fire broke out in the Sunshine Mine and 91 miners were killed from the toxic smoke of that blaze. I revisited the mining memorial when I was home spring break. A person from the valley can stand and read the information at the memorial and walk around studying the names of the miners surrounding the bronze statue, but even after all these years, it just doesn’t sink in. It was too big, too much to take in. I was seventeen years old when we heard the news of the fire. I lived across the street from a nursing home that became a temporary morgue. We saw hearses from funeral homes as far away as Grangeville and Cottonwood. I kept studying the pictures in the paper of those that had deceased and it still didn’t sink in. It was a dark time . Recently my niece and two friends wrote an original play and performed it for an Idaho History Day competition. When I watched them perform the play depicting the events of that first day of the mine disaster I was once again brought to tears. This outstanding performance earned them a trip to the state competition and then to the nationals. I am pleased that my niece and her team will retell the story of the Sunshine Mine Disaster in Washington, D.C. in June. It is a story that we need to remember.
My prayers today are with everyone impacted that day in May in 1972.